Bolivia's famous mirrored Uyuni salt flats and neighboring Pampa Mount Auyagas may hide lost Atlantis, author Jim Allen said. Allen is a former aerial photography specialist with the British Army. He studied pictures of the Uyuni salt marshes and the surrounding area and noticed that there are similarities between this region and Greek Atlantis.
The philosopher Plato spoke of a continent called Atlantis and an island city of the same name, Allen explains. The sunken Atlantis meant the island city.
Allen hypothesized that South America is the continent of Atlantis and that the sunken island city was located on Mount Pampa Auyagas in Bolivia.
Local legends about the flood that destroyed the city are similar to some of Plato's descriptions, Allen said. He compared the characteristics of Atlantis mentioned by Plato and the corresponding characteristics of South America and Pampa Auyagas.
1. Size
The continent of Atlantis was equal in size to the territory of North Africa and Asia combined, Plato wrote. South America is about the same size. Allen thinks it's easy to imagine a sunken island city. However, a continent of such a huge size submerged under water seems incredible.
Promotional video:
2. Rectangular plain
Plato mentioned a rectangular plain, the length of which is "3000 stadia long and 2000 stadia wide." Stages is an ancient Greek unit of measurement, equal to approximately 180 meters. The rectangular plain corresponds in size to the Uyuni salt marshes, according to Allen.
3. Strips of land separated by water
The city of Atlantis is described as circular strips of land separated by strips of the sea. Land strips were connected by bridges. At the top of Mount Pampa Auyagas there are traces of partially eroded land and water strips. If the water level in the neighboring Poopo Lake were higher, then the rings at the summit of Pampa Auyagas would be filled with water and connected to the lake by a channel five stages long. The number and size of the rings are reminiscent of Plato's description of Atlantis.
4. Precious metals (including the mysterious orichalcum)
In Atlantis, gold, silver, copper, tin and orichalcum were mined. There were so many of these metals that they covered the walls of the temples and the concentric wall around the central Acropolis.
All of these metals are found in the Pampas Auyagas, Allen says. Archaeologists and historians still do not know what orichalcum is and whether it can be found in nature. Allen thinks it may be a natural alloy of copper and gold found in the Andes, which the locals call tumbaga.
Tumbaga has been highly prized in the region throughout history, being heavier than copper but still malleable. Its surface can be treated by dissolving the copper so that only pure gold remains. Orichalcum was the second most valuable metal mined in Atlantis.
5. Place in the mountains and next to the sea
The island city of Atlantis was supposedly located 8 km from the sea and high above sea level, surrounded by mountains. This description exactly matches the Pampas Auyagas if the Poopo salt lake is considered an inland sea. Poopo is located 8 km from Pampas Auyagas. There were hot and cold springs in Atlantis, and there are several such springs in this region as well.
Bolivian Legends and the Legend of Atlantis
Image of the Greek sea god Poseidon, painting by Walter Crane, 1893
According to legend, Atlantis was destroyed by the god of the seas, Poseidon, and the patron saint of the city after its inhabitants became immoral. In the Pampas Auyagas region, there is a similar myth about how the demoralization of society led to a flood sent by the water god Tunupa.
The flooding began at Lake Titicaca, spread northward, and then to the Pampas Auyagas, where, according to Allen, there are still signs of flooding.
Name
Before the Spanish conquest, part of the Pampas Auayagas region was called Antisuyo, which means "kingdom of copper". In the language of the Quechua Indians, the word "antis" means copper. Allen believes there is a connection to antis in Atlantis. (Atlantis).